Council plans 'end of austerity' but tax set to rise

People living in Nottingham are set for a 3.5% rise in their council tax bill, but city council leaders have pledged to invest millions of pounds in services.

Labour-run Nottingham City Council said it was the first time in 18 years its portion of council tax had not been raised by the maximum 4.99%.

It also plans to invest about £22.5m in services, which could include street cleaning, free bulky waste collection, free swimming for under-16s and support for large-scale events.

The authority has faced financial problems, including effectively declaring bankruptcy in 2023, but said internal improvements and "fairer" government support mean it can afford to spend.

Ethan Radford, deputy leader of the council, said the authority had predicted an underspend of £1m and an investment of £15m in services based on "conservative" estimates of government funding.

But Radford said that in December, the authority found it would get a "much fairer" settlement than under the Conservative government.

He said it meant the authority had an extra £10m to spend on top of its original plans.

About £2.4m of that extra money will be spent on limiting the rise in council tax, which leaves about £7.5m for other projects.

The details are still being finalised, but he said it could include £200,000 extra cash for popular events like Riverside Festival and bonfire night, which have both been cancelled in recent years, partly due to a lack of funds.

He also said the council was looking to make about £11.5m in "efficiencies" in the next financial year, but that this would come from rises in charges and increased use of its facilities, like leisure centres, rather than front-line services.

The council tax rise means people living in a Band D property will pay £79.20 more on the city council portion of their bill.

The council has spent two years under government scrutiny after it declared it could not balance its budget in 2023.

Plugging the funding gap led to cuts and the use of emergency funds.

In 2024, the government sent in commissioners with the power to overrule the council to improve the financial situation, but they are planning to leave this week.

They said "much progress" has been made, although they warned there is still work to do, and are set to be replaced by government advisers.

Radford said: "We've been doing a lot of work to get the council's house in order.

"But in large part, it's thanks to the Labour government (that we can afford this budget).

"Austerity is over with the Labour government and austerity is over locally.

"We will not be making cuts like we've made in the past because we had no choice back then.

"In future budgets, as with this budget, there will be efficiencies, there will be things we might stop doing, but it won't be because we have to fill this huge monstrous gap, it will be because it's just not working for people anymore and we want to spend that money elsewhere."

Kirsty Jones, leader of the opposition Nottingham People's Alliance, said: "It's still a rise in council tax.

"There are still cuts being proposed and there are cuts that haven't been corrected from previous years that are still impacting Nottingham's residents.

"Instead of any additional spend going on to reversing those cuts or stopping cuts in further years, it's being spent on pet projects."

The budget will be debated and voted on by councillors next month.

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